


Just say the name

by BWolf_20



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Captivity, Character Bleed, Gen, Torture, Whipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2016-11-12
Packaged: 2018-08-30 12:57:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8533957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BWolf_20/pseuds/BWolf_20
Summary: As Negan goes further to get Daryl to break, Dwight contemplates why the man just won't give in and what it would mean if he had Daryl's strength. (Slight spoilers for episode 3 "The Cell")





	

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little fic I thought of after watching episode 3 "The Cell". Dwight's behavior in it made me curious enough to explore it more especially in concerns to Daryl.

Dwight tried not to think too much as he sat on the steps just outside a room, listening to another man’s screams of pain. He made to sit still, but he couldn’t help fidgeting every now and then. He thought by now he was used to all the forms of tortures their boss could do to a man, but the one currently being enacted was a little too much. It wasn’t something that topped getting the bat to the skull, but he believed it wasn’t that far from it. It was a classic afterall.

The man’s screams of agony never ceased. They traveled past the iron door of the room and echoed all around. 

Dwight kept himself still and crouched with his head mostly bowed. He wondered where Sherry was and how she was doing. It was better to think of her than having to imagine what was happening behind that door. 

Then for the briefest of seconds, he imagined Sherry in the man’s place and hearing her screams. It made him shiver, but then he cursed himself for thinking of it. Negan would never do such a thing to her. Sure they both had to be careful in a place like this, but there wasn’t anything she could do to earn such a punishment.

The sanctuary was survivable. As long as you kneeled before Negan and adopted his name and followed the rules, you were fine. You were safe. You stayed alive.

He couldn’t understand why Daryl couldn’t do it. He explained, but it didn’t make a whole lot of sense. This life was better than being dead.

Dwight shut his eyes as he felt a twist in his gut. The man had given a sudden high pitched cry. 

He thought of Sherry and her life, with their leader, and he cursed Daryl for making him doubt his choices. He turned his fingers into knuckles and imagined himself grabbing their smiling leader and punching him repeatedly in the face. His expression fell and he shook that image away. He could never do such a thing, even if he didn’t have Sherry to protect. He didn’t want to die and he didn’t want to feel any more pain.

The man’s screams slowed to silence, then the door creaked open.

Dwight stood and nodded to the savior who opened it as he entered the room.

There, hung like Jesus on a cross (except in this case he was hung by chains) was their latest member, completely naked with rivers of blood oozing down his butchered back, painting his lower half completely red. Lines of flesh had been viciously ripped away and littered the floor in chunks. 

“Jesus,” Dwight couldn’t help muttering as he took in the sight. The man didn’t move, except for a slight shudder. 

Negan moved into his view, smiling as he gave a shake to his bloodied whip which happened to be fashioned with barbs at the end. Dwight stared down at the thing, at the little pieces of flesh still stuck to them.

“Think after this, he’ll finally know who he is?”

Dwight looked up at Daryl. He looked so frail with his head bowed as he struggled to breathe.

“I think he’ll finally see the light,” he agreed.

Negan looked back at him and nodded.

“I think so too.” He gave a whistle and the other saviors that were in the room moved forward to unchain the man. 

Dwight made sure to express nothing on his face as he felt the man’s eyes upon him. He just watched as Daryl crumpled to the ground like a lifeless body. But even after such a serve whipping, the man attempted to right himself to his feet. Another savior walked over and laid a blanket over his back. 

“D, you wanna take care of that shit,” Negan ordered.

Dwight wordlessly walked over and yanked Daryl upright. He was in no position to stand on his own which meant Dwight had to become his crutch.

As he was pulling the man’s arm around his neck, Negan strolled over. He grabbed a handful of the man’s hair and forced his head up. Daryl blinked slowly but couldn’t seem to register Negan’s face pressing into his own. Dwight watched silently.

“Who are you?” came Negan’s grand question yet again. 

_Just say Negan_ , Dwight thought, not knowing why he wanted Daryl to give in. Didn’t he always believe the man should be dead?

Daryl’s lip trembled and his eyes rolled slightly. Dwight was certain it was impossible for him to register anything at the moment other than the obvious pain of his body. He worked his mouth a few times, but all that came out was a raspy gasp.

Negan let go of his hair and stepped back. Dwight breathed an inward sigh of relief.

“Get him patched up and back in his cell. We’re gonna try this again tomorrow.”

Dwight nodded and did his best to hurry out of the room with the bleeding man while at the same time trying not to damage him too much. It couldn’t be helped as he traversed them down the stairs. 

They were silent for the most part, except for Daryl’s occasional wheezes of pain. When Dwight deemed them alone and far enough away from Negan, he spoke.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” He received a slight moan in reply. “How hard is it to get? You’re here now, you’re Negan’s. There’s no getting out of that, except dead. You want that? Do you? Cause if you don’t, then answer the damn question. Get on your knees and keep your head down. It’s simple as that.”

Dwight let his thoughts wander to Sherry again, but the thought of her just then pained him. He turned his attention to the situation at hand. Why was Negan so interested in this man? He couldn’t be one of them. He wasn’t gonna break no matter what was done to him. He was so sure he would, but now he believed it was more likely Daryl would end up dead before he ever said the man’s name. 

“No.”

Dwight stopped and turned to the barely breathing man. He had to catch his breath before speaking again.

“It ain’t…simple,” he rasped.

There was something that made it sound right to Dwight, and it pissed him off.

“Negan’s wasting his time,” he grumbled. “You’ll end up out there on the fence. When that happens, it’ll all make sense.”

Dwight hustled him into the doctor’s office and dropped him on the chair.

“Jesus.”

“Yeah,” Dwight agreed bitterly as Daryl curled in on himself. “Patch him up, make it quick.”

He turned away from the scene, finding disgust in looking at the ruined skin of Daryl’s back for too long. 

“This may take a while.”

Not wanting to wait it out that long and that close, Dwight turned and left the room. 

 

Much later in the day, Dwight entered the cell and just stared down at the weak figure curled on his side. He never felt so much frustration towards another than he did towards Daryl. He was a stubborn ass. He balled his fingers into fists a few times feeling bitter and oddly enough jealous.

“I think I get it now. It’s not just about not having someone to protect.” The man gave no indication that he was listening. Dwight crouched down to ground level and continued. “You want this. You want to die. This for getting your friend killed.”

The accusation caused him to shiver. Dwight dropped his head and thought about Tina. 

“Guess you deserve it,” he muttered. 

After a moment, Daryl slowly rose his eyes. Dwight stared back at him and thought about the moment the man had helped him when he ran off with the girls. What had he done since? Bow down and let his life become hell. Then low and behold the man he had robbed had come into his life again, seemingly dying at his feet, all because he couldn’t be like him. 

Dwight glared, not liking how it made him feel.

“Just say the name.” It almost came out as a plea.

Daryl just kept staring back at him. Dwight wondered if he was even aware of what was happening at all.

“No,” he finally rasped. 

Dwight remained motionless as he spoke again.

“Say the name.”

Again there was hesitation before Daryl opened his cracked lips to speak.

“Can’t.”

Dwight sighed and stood. He shouldn’t be wasting his time on this man. It was one thing if Negan decided to, but he wouldn’t. 

“Fine,” he spat, “become a dead man for all I care.”

He left the room, locking the door behind him. 

After taking a few steps forward he looked back. If he was really honest with himself, really honest, he didn’t want to see the man broken. There was a kind of spirit about him that he secretly admired. He wished he possessed such a thing. If he had he was certain Tina would still be alive, and Sherry wouldn’t be with Negan. 

Still, he also wanted him to give in. Daryl had ended up helping them, so to keep him alive would be paying the debt. 

It was a weird tug-of-war situation, and in the end Dwight didn’t know what he wanted Daryl to do. All he knew was what he wanted to do, while knowing he never could.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little mini scene following Negan's further attempt to break the man with a little more insight into Dwight. I was inspired by Dwight's behavior as he listened to Daryl cry and also the moment where he and Negan were waiting for Daryl to answer who he was. This was also inspired by the fact that I haven't seen any fics on here between Daryl and Dwight in concerns to the episode, and Gen in that matter.  
> I'll be curious of more interactions between Daryl and Dwight in the show.


End file.
